Hat flanging iron



May 31, 1938. P. SCHULTZE HAT FLANGING IRON Filed Oct 1, 1957 2Sheetg-Sheet l ,3 J .mNfim I .H 1 r fc W .1! llillli li 3 1| i: l I \i Qmm mm R. w 3 M w! w Jim M d y 1933- P. SCHULTZE HAT FL ANGING IRON FiledOct. 1, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mg? 5 N INVENTOR.

,Pau Sc/zulize A TTORNEY.

Patented May 31, 1938 UNITED STATES HAT FLANGING IRON Paul S'chultze,Danbury, Conn-., assignor to Doran Bros., Inc., Danbury, Conn., acorporation of Connecticut Application October 1,

13 Claims.

. This invention belongs to the class of hat brim fianging or ironingmachines and refers more particularly to ,an improved form of ironemployed to travel over the surface of the hat brim for the purpose ofsmoothing and shaping the same.

The invention particularly applies to the member, in this type offlanging machine, known as an iron and comprises not only a novelconstruction of iron for operating on the hat brim, but also. anassociated means for heating the iron as well as to provide a warmstream of air on the surface of the hat, being operated upon and wherebythe latterbecomes somewhat dried out during the operation of ironing andshaping the brim to the block upon which it is mounted, and whereby theshape and style of the hat brim is determined.

The invention is particularly adaptable and, in fact, has been appliedto the type of hatb'rim fiangi ng machine shown and described in mycopcnding patent application filed December 3, 1936, Ser. No. 117,310.This prior application has to do moreparticularly with the generalconstruction of the machine and as shown employs a commercial type ofiron for ironing the hat brim. In this machine the iron issupported'upon an automatically controlled operating arfn that serves to guide theiron across the under brim portion of the hat and to automaticallydisengage it from the hat at the completion of an operation.

I have, therefore, illustrated my present invention, as applied totheautomatically'controlled operating arm as illustrated in the said priorapplication, and in this connection will necessarily refer to anddescribe so much of the machine and its iron. carrying arm as may benecessary to convey a clear understanding of the application of thepresent invention.

The iron of the present application is formed in part of a pair ofco-acting plates'hingedly supported and connected so as to conform tothe rolled surface of the under side of a hat brim during the hangingoperation, better to prevent any possible marking of the surface of thebrim as may occur with a one piece iron.

The electrical heating means forminga part of this invention, as shownin thedrawings, is closely associated with the iron and serves to heatthe volume of air that is fed through the heating element and thenceagainst and past the ironing members and finally disposed against thesurface of the hat. The heating element is provided with automatic meansfor. controlling the electric cur-4..

1937, Serial No. 166,759 (01. 223-2 1) rent so that the proper airtemperature may be provided.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of constructionhereinafter set forth including combinations of elements andarrangements of parts as; will be described in the followingspecification and shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification and as will be more particularly indicated in theclaims to follow.

In the accompanying drawings is shown a practical embodiment of mypresent invention such as is adapted for use in various types of hathanging machines.

Fig, l'i shows a top plan view of my improved hanging iron including itsheating element and the arm forsupporting the iron, said iron being inposition for the beginning of a hanging operation on the underbrimportion of a hat.

Fig; 2 shows a detached side elevation of my improved iron, togetherwith its heating element, and a portion of the supporting arm shown inFig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a bottom Fig. 4 shows a central vertical longitudinalsectidnafview taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1', better to illustrate theinternal construction of" the iron incllldingthe' heating element andassociated fe'atures' of a hanging machine and its iron supporting arm.

Fig. 5 shows a sectional elevation, as seen from the right 'of Fig. 4 ofa part of a hat supporting block, a hat, a. cloth covering the same andmy improved iron, in a starting position, for operating on the" underbrim portion of a hat when mounted upon the block.

Fig. 6 shows a somewhat similarview, though illustrating" the' iron inan advanced position, operating upon the under-curled portion of' thebrim, and l Fig. 7 shows another somewhat similar view 11- lustratingap'ortionj of the lathe, hat block, hat and cloth covering the latter,together with the iron in its finishing p'ositi'on, preparatory to beingthrownoii from the hat.

In flariging machines of the present type wherein the hat body and theironing element are designed to move with respect to eachother, a latheis usually employed, upon which to mount the hat block and hat as willbe seen from my design of machine shown in the aforesaid copendingapplication andin fact other commercially known fianging machines. WhileI have not'd eemed it necessary forthe disclosure of my plan view of theiron iron, in this application to illustrate a complete lathe, yet inorder to convey a clear understanding of the purposes and advantages ofmy improved iron, I have shown a part of a lathe structure, in Figs. 5,6 and 7, which I have designated as Hi, the same being a holder which,in practice, is formed of metal and may be supported directly upon thelathe spindle, not shown. This holder is provided with one or morescrews 20 having vertically projected pin-like ends that project abovethe annular flat top surface of the holder upon which a hat block 2| ispositioned, the hat block being provided with holes 22 to receive thepins and whereby the block is properly supported and its rotary movementwith the holder and lathe spindle is assured.

In the drawings, 23 indicates the hat body which is shown in an invertedposition in Fig. l, the smoothing iron l8 being positioned upon theunder side of the brim preparatory to its movement, in theqdirection ofarrow, across the oval under surface of the brim. In Figs. 5, 6 and '1where a cross section of a portion of the hat body is shown, 24obviously represents the inner band portion of the hat body whereas 25indicates the curled brim portion lying close to the curling surface ofthe block to which the brim of the hat is made to conform. In practice,for the purpose of a flanging operation the under surface of a hat bodyis covered with a wet cloth, herein designated as 26, which is snuglystretched over the hat and secured to the block by means of a cord whichin the drawings is designated as 21 which insures the holding of the hatbrim down upon the block during the flanging operation and allows thequick removal of the cloth when the brim has been flanged. From thisdisclosure, it will be obviously apparent that the heated smoothingplates of the iron engage the damp cloth, and not the hat brim proper,thereby performing an operation similar to that used by tailors andothers in the pressing of garments.

Referring again to the arm l6, see Figs. 1, 2 and 4, it will be seenthat it is in part bifurcated having intervening bridge members 28 thatform the supports for the switch mechanisms 29 as well as the air heater30, mounted above the switch. The ironing element l8, which includes apair of hingedly mounted steel plates 3| and 32, is carried by the arml6 through the medium of a hollow shaft 33 rockably mounted in thebefore-mentioned bridges 28 of the arm IS.

The iron l8, as will be seen, is made up of an inner shell 34 having anair intake passage 35 leading into an enlarged portion 36, that housesthe ironing plates 3| and 32 and which are hingedly mounted on shafts 31secured in the lower part of the inner shell 34. One end portion ofthese plates are provided with segments 38 that engage each other toinsure rocking of the one, with the rocking movement of the other,thereby causing the two plates to rock in unison with each other, betterto conform to the surfaces of the hat brim, while the iron is beingmoved over the hat brim in its fianging operation.

The plate 3| of the iron, as will be seen from Figs. 3,5, 6 and 'I, isslightly wider than the associated member 32so that the said wide platecan better perform a finishing fianging movement across the under fiatface of the brim, see Fig. 5.

The upper portion 39 of the passage 35 where it receives the end portionof the short pipe 40 securedin the heating unit is relatively wide so asto.permit of a rocking movement of the iron together with the hollowrockable shaft 33 uPOn which it is mounted and it at the same time formsa stop to limit the rocking movement of the iron with respect to the armHi and its attached heating unit.

The heating unit 30, see Fig. 4, comprises an. inner tube 4| with whichthe beforementioned short pipe 40 is connected. This tube 4| is linedwith insulating material 42 in which the coil of resistance wire 43 issupported. One end of the coil, as will be seen, is connected'with abinding post 44 while the other end is similarly connected to the post45, said post being mounted in the outer cylindrical casing 46, and theintermediate shell 41, thus providing means for supplying electriccurrent from any suitable source. The heating element is preferably inthe form of a coil 43 which snugly fits into the insulative lining 42 ofthe tube and forms an elongated passage through which the air passes tobe heated on its travel to the ironing plates, see arrows. This heatingelement and its insulation are contained within the tube 4| supportedwithin and in spaced relation to the shell 41 which latter is likewisecontained within and in spaced relation to the casing 46. The inner endof the tube 4| is provided with an opening 48 through which the airenters the heating chamber and the opposite end of the intermediateshell 41 is also open, forming an air passage, see arrows, from thesupply pipe 49 as between the members 46 and 41 thence between themembers 41 and 4|" through the opening 48 tothe heating chamber fromwhence it passes through the short pipe 40 into the'passage of the iron.This construction obviously'forms preliminary heating passages throughwhich the air is conducted to the heating unit preparatory to its beingheated and forced on through the heated iron in a way to heat the platesand dry off the surface of the hat as the iron is carried across it. Theair supl ply pipe 49 may obviously be connected to any suitable sourceof air supply as for instance a fan, not shown, which in practice wouldbe mounted upon and form a part of the flanging machine on which theiron is used.

The iron which has been generally designated as I8" is made up of threeprincipal metal parts, an inner member 34, in which the passages 35 and36 are formed and the two outer metal covering shells 50 and 5|. twoshells,'see Fig. 4, is filled with suitable insulating material 52 toretain the heat of the air passing through the iron and likewise leavingthe outer surface of the iron relatively cool,

better to permit of handling the same as ocoa- .1.

sion may require. These outer shells as will be seen are secured inposition in a way to closely.contact the insulation against the innershell member and are secured together in position by screws 53. I

As before stated, I have provided an automatic temperature controlwithin the iron with connection with the switch 29 for cutting in andout the electric current to the heat element,

which will best be understood from Fig. 4 of the drawings. This, as willbe noted, is contained, in part, within the before-mentioned hollowrockable shaft 33 that extends into and supports the iron. A push rod 54is slidably mounted in this hollow-shaft, with its front end projectingslightly within the iron in the path of movement of a diaphragm 55mounted within the head and adapted to be flexed by the temperaturewithin the iron in a manner to engage and disengage said contacting rodwith the raising and lower- The space between these ing of thetemperature within the iron.-, The other end of the tube is in alignmentto engage a contacting member of a switch .56 whereby the electriccurrent provided for the heating ele-. ment and through thebeforementioned binding posts are controlled. The current obviously maybe provided from any convenient source and connected with the iron asmay be required.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In an iron for hat flanging machines, the combination with an arm forsupporting an iron, of a rockable support carried thereby, an ironcarried on said rockable support and having an air duct passingtherethrough, ironing plates mounted in the mouth of the air duct, anelectric heating unit carried on the arm and connected with the airduct, and an air supply pipe connected with the heating unit for passingair thereto and through the iron.

2. In an iron for hat fianging machines, the combination with anoperatable arm for supporting an iron, of a rockable support carriedthereby, an iron carried on said rockable support and having an air ductpassing through the iron, hingedly connected ironing plates pivotallymounted in the mouth of the air duct, an elec tric heating unit carriedby the ironing arm and connected with the air duct, an air supply pipeconnected with the heating unit for passing air thereto and through theduct of the iron and in a manner to heat the plates.

3. In an iron for hat flanging machines, the combination with anoperatable arm for supporting an iron, of a rockable support carriedthereby, an iron carried on said rockable support and having an air ductextending through the iron, ironing plates mounted in the mouth of theair duct, an electric heating unit carried by the ironing arm andconnected with the air duct, an air supply pipe connected with theheating unit for passing air thereto and through the iron, hingedlyconnected ironing plates pivotally mounted in the mouth of the air duct,and temperature control means within the air duct for regulating thetemperature of the heated air.

4:. In an iron for hat flanging machines, the combination with anoperatable arm for supporting an iron, of a rockable support carriedthereby, an iron secured on said rockable support having an air ductpassing therethrough, ironing plates pivotally mounted in the mouth ofthe air duct, an electric heating unit carried by the ironing arm andconnected with the air duct, an air supply pipe connected with theheating unit for passing air thereto and through the iron, the said ironcomprising an inner shell in which the warm air duct is formed, an outershell and a filling of insulating material between the two shells.

5. In an iron for flanging machines, the combination with an operatablearm for supporting an iron, of a rockable support carried thereby, an

iron secured on said rockable support having an air duct passingtherethrough, an ironing plate mounted in the mouth of the air duct, anelectric heating unit carried by the ironing arm having an air ductconnected with the duct of the iron, the said heating element beingfixedly supported with respect to the rockable ironing arm.

6. In an iron for flanging machines, the combination with an operatablearm for supporting an iron, of a rockable support carried thereby, aniron secured on said rockable support, an air duct passing through theiron, ironing plates mounted in the mouth of the air duct, an electricheating unit carried by the ironing arm and connected with the air duct,the said heating element including a series of elongated tubularsections, one within the other, and including an outer fair intake, anintermediate air warming passage, an inner section and aheating unitwithin the inner section, and an outlet from the heating unit leading tothe hot'air passage in the iron.

7. In a hat flanging machine of the class described, the combinationwith a vertically rotatable lathe for supporting a hat block, of ahingedly supported arm, an iron carried by said arm, means for operatingthe arm to move the iron radially with respect to the axis of the lathe,the said iron including an air passage therethrough, a heating elementassociated therewith to warm the current of air through the iron, anironing plate pivotally mounted in the mouth of the warm air passage toengage and operate upon the surface of a hat.

8. In an iron of the class described, the combination of an operatingarm for supporting an iron, an iron rockably supported with respect tothe arm and having an air passage therethrough, a heating unit carriedby the arm formed of cylindrical sections including an outer intakesection, an intermediate warming passage and an inner tubular passage,an electric heating unit within the last mentioned member through whichthe air passes to be heated, and a pair of hingedly connected ironingplates pivotally mounted in the iron in the path of travel of the airtherethrough.

9. In an iron for hat flanging machines, the combination of an arm forsupporting an iron, an iron carried by said arm, a heating unit carriedby the arm and having an air passage connected with the iron, an airsupply connected with the heating unit for supplying air thereto andthrough the iron, said iron including an inner member having an airpassage therethrough, ironing plates mounted in the outlet of the airpassage, a filling of insulation surrounding the said inner shell and anouter covering enclosing the said insulating means.

10. In an iron for hat flanging machines, the

combination of an arm for supporting an iron, an iron rockably supportedwith respect to the arm and having an air passage therethrough, meansfor limiting said rocking movement, a heating unit carried by the armand having an air passage connected with that of the iron, means forsupplying a flow of air to the heating unit and through the iron, a pairof hingedly connected ironing plates mounted in the mouth of the airpassage through the iron to permit the same to better conform to thesurface of a hat on which the iron is operating.

11. In an iron for hat flanging machines, a supporting arm and anelectric heating unit carried thereby, an iron rockably supported onsaid arm, means for providing a current of air through the heating unitto the iron, a temperature control means within the iron to regulate thetemperature of the air supplied to the iron.

12. In an iron for hat fianging machines, a supporting arm, an electricheating unit carried thereby, an iron rockably supported on said arm andhaving an air passage therethrough, means for providing a current of airto and through the heating unit and iron, pivotally mounted ironingplates positioned in the mouth of the air passage to be heated by thewarm air flowing therethrough, a temperature control means within thearm to regulate the temperature of the air to the iron.

larger than the other, an electric heating unit carried by the ironingarm and having a warm air duct connecting the iron, the intake end ofthe air duct of the iron being larger than the warm air pipe from theheater.

PAUL SCI-IULTZE.

